Improved refrigerator



E D. BRAINARDJ Refrigerator.

No. 81,5881 2 Patented Sept. '1, i868.

o F r lime/Zia? v r EDWIN fl). BRAINABD, QOF ALBANY, NEW YORK.

IMPROVED REFRIGERATOR.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 81,588, datedflcptember 1, 1868.

To all whom it may concern: Beitknown that I, EDWIN D. BRAINA-RD,

of the city'and county of Albany and State ofNew York, have invented a new and Improved Refrigerator; and I hereby declare the following to be afull and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, making a part of this specification. I

This invention has for its object the more perfect preservation of articles of domestic and commercial use by means of creating and preserving a low temperature with the least possible expense in which to store such per .ishable articles. convenient, cheap, and effectual method of constructing refrigerators ,for extensive com- It also has for its object a .mercial purposes, so that they may be easily transported to a distance to be set up in stores,

markets, warehouses, and such like places, without becoming fixtures, or be attached to the walls of the building in which they are located. I i

For extensive commercial purposes it is necessary that the refrigerator should be spacious and large, weighing many tons. According to the usual method of constructing such refrigerators, this would necessarily involve the constructing them upon the spot where they were to be located, on account of the expense and difficulty involved in the transportation of such ponderous bodies; and, besides, where a refrigerator of large size would frequently be desirable, it would be imment consists, in part, in constructing my large refrigerators in separate parts or seetions, composed of independent air-tight or sealed metallic chambers, and so constructed and arranged that the several chambers may .be made to form the main chamber of the refrigerator by being fastened together by meansof proper keys or cams, as hereinafter described, each joint being made air-tight by means of rubber or othersuitable packing.

. In theconstruction of refrigerators it has ever been a desideratum to find out and apply to the walls thereof the best non-conductors of heator'caloric; and variouskinds of packings have been resorted to, for that purpose. By actualexperiment I have ascertained that dead-air chambers, by which I meanainchamberssealedabsolutely, so as to admit of no currents of air within them, form the most perfect non-conductors of heater caloric. But to produce these chambers in the needed .perfection for refrigerators, they must be constructed of metallic substances, which are altogether impervious to air. Mere wood inclosures admit in a greater or less degree of the circulation .of air, which greatly impairs the non-conducting quality of these inclosingchambers.

:In constructing these primary chambers, with which to construct the refrigerator, it may sometimes become advisable to place inside these primary chambers some light, fleecy substance, for the purpose of impeding any currents of air tending to arise within the same from a change of temperature within the different parts of such chambers, and for such purpose flocks of hair, cotton, wool, or any similar substance may be used, being careful in such use not to pack such substance sufficiently to impair the non-conducting qualities of such chambers, the only object to be sought by such use being the obstruction of such possible currents within such sealed chambers. 1

In the construction of my large refrigerators, I make the sides, top, and bottom of the same of separate sealed metallic chambers,

and, as chambers, having no communication with each other. I construct these chambers of sheet metal. I now use galvanized iron for the purpose of making them absolutely impervious to air. Beingconstructed separately, they are made of such form and size as to fit exactly, to form the main chamber for storln g all articles designed for preservation.

The accompanying drawing will illustrate fully the nature and mode of its construction.

In thefigure, a represents one of these sealed chambers, designed as one of the sides of the refrigerator B, O, D, E, and F. It is constructed of galvanized iron, and inclosed within a sealed chamber of air. Where the iron or other metal is of sutficient strength, the chamber can be constructed without the employment of any internal frame-work for its support; but should thin plates of metal be used requiring additional support, a frame of wood may be used for that purpose.

In the drawing herewith submitted as a part of this specification, the several external chambers thus formed and brought together to constitute the refrigerator are represented thus B represents a chamber forming the top of the refrigerator. 0 and D represent 0113.111: bers forming sides of the same. E represents a chamber forming the bottom of the same, while a and F represent the remaining sides. Rubber packing is introduced in the joints formed by the meeting of the ends of the several chambers with the adjoining sides thereof.

These several chambers are each formed of metallic plates closely sealed to avoid all currents of air within them, and they are fastened together by means of pins so set in the separate parts in respect to each other that the clamps marked 3 in the drawings embrace each two of these pins at the widest point of the clamp or wedge, and, by being driven, fasten the sides closely together, as represented in Fig. 1. I

The accompanying drawing is designed to represent a large refrigerator of suflicient size to admit persons passing within it, for storing away or arranging the contents within it. In

such case the opening K represents the door by means of which persons may enter the main chambers, and i represents an upper door in the same, by means of which the principal chamber is supplied with ice for reducing the temperature therein. 9 and h repre sent, respectively, the doors or means of closing the openings into the principal chamber of the refrigerator.

Refrigerators of almost any size can be constructed. Where small refrigerators for mere family or domestic use are required, they may be constructed so as to have the walls constitute but one'chamber-that is, it will be convenient to construct such small refrigerators around light wooden frames, so that the chamhers composing the sides and ends of the refrigerator may communicate with each other at the points of junction between them, forming, however, when completed, a close cham ber within the walls of the refrigerator, which in no manner communicates with the chamber constituting the non-conducting portions of those walls.

The internal arrangement of my improved refrigerator is substantially in principle like others constructed and patented by myself.

Having thus fully described my said improvement, I will proceed to set forth what I claim as my invention, and what I desire to secure by Letters Patent The employment of independent metallic chambers closely sealed and secured together by clamps in the construction of refrigerators, substantially in the manner and for the purposes above described.

EDWIN D. BRAINARD.

In presence of- R. BERNCUPT, J. L. Oomuss. 

